In my home, it seems destined the Wii U will be my N64, Gamecube, and Wii. A machine that will get turned on when a great exclusive game has been released, usually Nintendo 1st party games.
That is to say, it will be home to high quality Nintendo exclusives I can't get anywhere else.
Everything else I will buy on various other machines. I don't feel Nintendo's online setup is sufficient for my needs and standards I've developed at this time. I bought the Wii U with the idea I was buying 1st party Nintendo games and after owning my Wii Us, I don't see that changing.
The hardware design disappointed me as a Sound Enthusiast as well. For next generation Hardware, I feel Nintendo's sound options are pretty tame (No 7.1, Lossless all or nothing, no Dolby or other format support for Netflix, no optical port, etc). It's a shame, but I get it, most gamers interested in Nintendo are using less than a Soundbar in their homes. I was also sad the battery life on the pad isn't very long to support parties I've had (3-5 hours), the recharge time is also slow (3 hours). The slow Wii U OS and long updates were a bummer, but I moved past that. The slow OS does prevent me from turning on the Wii U for other endeavours though. I don't like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, PS Home, XBL Avatars, or any of those things, so the Miiverse is very unappealing to me and my friends, but it is what it is. I understand that it is something others seem to enjoy.
However, Playing Mario U at launch was fun and exactly what I expected it to be. If you buy the Wii U with the idea that you are getting a Nintendo machine for Nintendo exclusives, I think you'll go in happy. If you are banking on some sort of repeat performance the Wii had over the other machines (#1 sales but this time with all multiplats), I think those people bet too early. I would have at least waited for specs and game announcements if money was a concern, and they can only afford one console. We haven't seen those other machines yet, and the current generational offerings offer more games for less money if multiplats were the main reason to buy.
That said, the first few weeks it was played about every day to every other day, but now I'm waiting for two titles to release next year to turn it on the Wii U on again. Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101. Pikmin is a summer game now. That's about it. Again, I have all the machines, so I have plenty to play on those machines until more exclusives slowly drop.
I've been a Nintendo fan for a great many years, prior to them making a home console. I can say that they are a great developer, but they don't make software quick. I'm not about to wait around for multiplats that may or may not ever release.
It's not a bad machine, but people should research it before they jump in. The experience could be great if say, I was coming straight from a Wii to Wii U and I never had gaming PCs and the other home consoles. Unfortunately, I am not that gamer, so my experience overall has been okay. Not terrible though, just okay.
I do wonder if Tablet gaming as a gimmick will be able to stop the tidal wave of graphics that are inbound. In the meantime, I am not worried, the gamepad works exactly like I expected it too. One screenshot a year ago, and it plays like I imagined it would. Nintendo also finally added in R3/L3, which I always wanted. Now, if they can just get that battery life extended somehow.
SolidTy
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